We write to share with you the disturbing findings of the recent study on hunger among UC employees, which was conducted by Occidental College at the request of Teamsters Local 2010. The study showed that thousands of UC employees are going hungry, and many more suffer from food insecurity, due to low wages.

The story was reported this morning in the Los Angeles Times. Today Local 2010 and the authors of the study will convene a press conference regarding the findings. We also sent a letter to UC President Janet Napolitano calling on the University to bargain in good faith and pay workers enough to eat. You may read the full study by clicking here.

The study showed that over 70% of the administrative support staff employed by the University of California are food insecure, and 45% of the workers suffer from severe food insecurity and hunger. The UC employees surveyed suffer from food insecurity at a rate five times the national average, and substantially higher than the unacceptable rate suffered by UC students.

The existence of such high levels of hunger among University of California employees shocks the conscience. Full-time employees of a great University should not be worried about their next meal or have their quality of life and work performance suffer due to hunger. As the third largest employer in California, and one of the ten wealthiest universities in the country, UC should be an economic force for good jobs and fair pay, not hunger and poverty.

The widespread hunger at UC is the result of the fact that the real wages of CX workers are down 24% over the past two decades, and 93% are paid too little to afford the basic necessities of life.

We thank the more than 3,000 who responded to the survey, and the many thousands who have stood together as Teamsters to take action for a fair contract. Teamsters Local 2010 will continue to take action, and to tell the world about UC’s unfair pay practices, until UC agrees to a fair contract and pays workers enough to live.